How many times have you wished you could find a cool and unique classic project that was a driver equipped with a V8 and a standard transmission? Well this 1962 Oldsmobile F85 may be right up your alley. Initially purchased to be a parts car, it would seem the seller didn’t have the heart to part out this nice looking specimen. Ready to drive with new tires and great styling, this classic can be yours for a mere $800! Check it out here on craigslist out of Vulcan, Michigan. Thanks are in order to reader Clarke B for this great submission!
Packing a punch from a lightweight all aluminum 215 cubic inch V8 this Olds is particularly clean under the hood. With some minor rust around the edges of the inner fenders, the remainder of the engine bay is very nice. Equipped with a factory 3 speed manual transmission, you can bet that this F85 is a fun drive.
The interior is a lovely dull brass type of color, but the owner has kept the original seats and some other minor interior trim for his other project. There is currently no back seat with the car, and the current seats are a bit beat up. Although depending on your motives this Olds still looks like a great deal.
So why is this seemingly clean looking car so cheap? Well there is some rust to contend with. The quarters and rear wheel arches have some rust concerns. There are no visible holes, but a little investigating with a screw driver may reveal a few. The rockers look decent, and the car overall seems like a worthwhile little project if you are willing to put in the time for body work. Unfortunately there is no indication as to the extent of the rust, but the trunk looks extremely solid, so perhaps this car is more solid than it seems? If I was in a position to get it, I would absolutely jump on this Olds. Would any of you scramble to get this cheap driving classic?
Had one of these cars as a kid in high school fun car
When someone in Michigan says a car is very rusty, it’s go to be VERY rusty
That looks like a winner…….great combination on a fun little car. Find a factory turbo to bolt on and away you go…..
My brother in law had one of these back in the day and they are fast little ride, great price too…
Very cool…lots of potential! Bigger rear tires…maybe two-tone paint (gold dust white pearl)…4 bomber bucket seats and some fuzzy dice!
Wow!
Had a 63 Buick Special with the same body style and a V6 in 69. First V6 I had ever seen, I would love this car.
“Cheap thrills, in the back of my car…” fix the rust issues, falsa blanket covers and a backseat from the junkyard…. Oh, and some “fuzzy dice, bongos in the back. My ship of love is ready to attack…” My apologies to Frank Zappa….
Looks pretty good from here and the price is right . Should be sold quickly.
Sum-ting fishy here. Their idea of “very rusty” differs greatly from my idea, considering what’s come thru here lately. This is NOT an $800 dollar car. I suppose, if you are that out of touch with prices, there’s a remote possibility but clearly, this car is worth more than this, it’s a really neat car. Something doesn’t add up.
no info on where this car spent the majority of its life. vulcan, mi is in the upper peninsula. it is a tiny town and not likely to get as much salt in winter as southern mich.
love the white on blue combo.
There is a fair amount of mud in this car, that you can see if you enlarge the photos.
The owner probably knows where there is more body work.
The owners seem to have priced this fairly knowing what it needs and what it is.
I strongly support fair priced cars.
To many (non-motorhead) people have a older car, go to a website like Barrett Jackson or Hemmings and think their car is “The Rarest Pot Of Gold” when it really is a “Boring POS”
I learned how to drive in one of these. Three on the tree. Light green with a matching interior. It was a rust lump but thrived on neglect. Great little car!
I agree with Howard. A car with a spotless looking engine compartment and the owner advertises it as a parts car? Something smells and it’s not a rear view mirror air freshener.
These aluminum engines were prone to cracking and warped heads. If that’s the case the car was right on the money.
Two possibilities here: Someone needs 800 bucks in their pocket TODAY or when you call/reply they’ll say “Sorry, made a mistake in the post, the real price is X”
‘Something smells fishy” is correct, the post is gone. The engine pictured would have been worth the price asked. Too good to be true……exactly.
Maybe he meant $8000?
Typical CL behavior – accidentally leave off a digit in the price.
I have and had many of these Old’s, my favorites. The first thing to do is open the hood and look at the fender edges, if they are rusty, walk away as fast as you can.
They are not close to the salt, and they have reasonable drainage, so they are the last to go. If they’re bad, the unibody is usually seriously compromised.
That said, it’s still a neat car, and other than the body issues and mismatched guts, it is a viable car for someone to get into a low-budget restomod. It has little value as a restoration.
You can always buy too bad a car, but you cannot buy too good a car.
I know the car and I know the seller; honest beyond belief. This car was an elderly lady’s car and years ago I used to see it about town. Like many elderly, it didn’t get the car it needed. When she passed on, her son from a distance worked to prepare the property, meanwhile this was garaged as usual. Bob is just completing a ground up restoration on the best of four he bought. He sold me the second best one. This one is a great runner and is priced this low to move it, after all, who wants to drive this far to buy a cheap car. He who hesitates loses.
Hi Jeff, great folks in the UP ( der hey), I hope it went to a caring owner. ( and they got a good deal,for once) It’s refreshing to hear of this kind of honesty, and you probably won’t find a lot of that anymore. This car could show up somewhere, with a $9,900 dollar price tag on it. Bob didn’t do anything wrong, and I’m just as out of touch with prices today, but this, everyone here will admit, is a bit unusual for this nice of a car. Thanks for giving us the story on this.
btw, has the snow melted yet?? :)
People may not understand how remote the U.P. of Michigan is…like about 8 hrs from Detroit in good weather! And neighbors can be few and far between…
Hi Tom, and that’s the way they likes it,,,apparently. I love the UP, especially Keweenaw County,( about 3 hours for me) but you don’t venture out on a 1/4 tank of gas, for sure.
Da yoopee is for sure a great place with great folks! To tell you the truth tho I see enough winter already in Houghton Lake and if it wasn’t for the fact you can add a couple more weeks of it in spring and autumn I’d be living there instead of here.
Yah, I love it too!
Hey Howard, How far are you from Hayward?
Hi Gregg, HEY-HAYward is about an hour due west, I’m near Phillips. I should talk, freezing rain and an inch of snow today, ugh, good day to look at motorcycles. Or, check out the “Yoopers Tourist Trap”. Got to have some new exhibits by now. :)
Gone
I would take a chance on this, looks nice
It looks like the lower 6 inches of the entire car is made of bondo. It does say RUSTY.
Even with the mismatched seats, and the lower 6 inches being all bondoed up, with new tires, a V8, and being “ready to drive”, that thing is (or rather, was already “stolen”) a steal!
An uncle had a four-door 1962 Buick Skylark that he bought new. He drove it 130,000 miles before it flunked state inspection because of rust. But he said it was one of the best cars he ever owned.
It’s gone already. I’m in Kentucky and I would have got this car. For the price I would have trailer it back. Y’all talking about rust, if you knew what we have to go thru to redo a car here. I really don’t think y’all know what rust is. I would like it because you don’t see these cars at the shows. The same cars over and over don’t you guys get bored seeing the same cars at the shows. I have a 70 javelin I would love to restore but can’t find parts nowhere. I think that sucks. But that’s why we always see the same cars, I think it’s sad myself.
I had a 63 cutlass 215 v8 , smoke the tires right off the back.
Do you think Olds was trying to make a statement with that huge air cleaner housing????
Hey Jamey,
Go to the Reno NV Craig’s List and punch in AMC. You will find a guy in Fallon NV. (naval air station there that used to be Top Gun before it went to Mira Mar) This guy always has more than one AMC listed. Has a ’69 Javelin and a Rambler on there now. If this guy does not have the parts you need. He will know where to get them. He is a pretty good guy. I bought some Jeep engine parts from him once for my son’s budget CJ5.
Had a Buick Skylark of the same vintage, same 215 CI V8, great little car…